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closed | let's go on living

WHO: Kamala Khan
WHERE: House 6
WHEN: Nov. 15, Frank's birthday
OPEN TO: Frank Castle
WARNINGS: Vague references to horror settings!! Otherwise super G.

She looked him up when they got back. It was silly in hindsight. She didn't really have any business poking into his personal life like that. Kamala missed her friend. It's super easy to put a name in a search engine and find out all kinds of things. One thing that stuck out was a date. Thanks to Peter, she knows the watch will give her some idea of the time that's passed. It occurs to her in the craziness that this is the week of Frank's birthday. She really needs to do something even if it can't be a party.

A couple days before his birthday she takes some zoom seeds to make everything she needs. It works like a charm. She's fast enough to make flour for a cake, to carve a piece of wood down until it's a little gift, and get the rest of the prep work for baking done on short notice. What sucks is puking her guts out at the Inn afterward. She cleans it up along with the rest of the bathroom for good measure. She realizes she can't go home like this. She already used a fair amount of preserved peaches for the cake so using those to heal up isn't an option.

All that's left is to head down to the Bunker and see if that vending machine will give her back what's been stolen from her. (Until she remembers the hot springs were also an option.) The broken blood vessels healing up are all the confirmation she needs that her healing power is back for however long. All she needs is for it to work until Frank's birthday so she can stay healthy unlike some of the others.

Miracle of all miracles it does. The morning of his birthday comes. She excuses herself from breakfast to grab something at the Inn with the promise he will save all the coffee for her. Upon return she does the cheesiest thing Kamala can think of: sing happy birthday all the way to the table. Kamala set down the cake she'd hidden there yesterday on the table with a huge smile. "Okay so I don't have candles, but we can still eat! Happy birthday, Frank!" She uncovers it with a grand sweeping gesture. It's all his!! She hopes he likes it.

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As promised, there's fresh coffee waiting when she gets back, but it took all Frank had not to spy on her. He'd noticed something off with her these past few days and hoped she wasn't getting sick, but when she stayed healthy he tried to let her have her secret. It isn't easy for him to do, she knows, but it's important for Kamala and that's what always makes his mind up in the end. She's a young woman now, it must be weird enough for her to live with an old guy without him constantly keeping tabs.

The last thing he could have expected was a birthday cake. He listens to the familiar song with bewilderment and pain shining in his eyes, but it should be obvious he's touched anyway. "I, uh." He hears the words in Micro's voice and is tempted to laugh, but he knows it won't be a nice sound so he preempts it by nodding bravely. "Thank you, sweetheart." The rest can wait, right now he has to not be a total drag about this.

It's always a mixed bag. Everything on some level seems to bring back painful memories. Kamala can only do her best to make sure the good outweighs the bad. There's no way she can avoid celebrating his birthday without seeing if she can make it a good one first. The fact that he is touched at all makes her think this will work out.

"You're welcome! I got you something too, but that's for later! Right now we're going to slice this up!" She goes to grab a knife. Once Kamala has it she starts slicing away. "Sorry I couldn't throw a party or anything. So many people are sick. It'd be insensitive." Kamala laments sadly. She bounces back quickly. "Besides! I wanted to see if you like this first. It's my first time baking a cake here. You'd forgive me if I accidentally poisoned you."

"It's okay." He lifts his eyebrows - he's had more than enough parties here to last a lifetime. "This is everyone I would've invited anyway."

Frank looks around the kitchen at lazying dogs, cat and croc-dog and sighs. Yeah, he really doesn't need anyone else for company but his horror bff. The poisoning gets a laugh.

"Probably the least of my worries, too. Bring it on."

Kamala glances around. It really does feel right for Frank now that she thinks about. "Then it's perfect." She flashes a smile at him as drops a slice of cake on his plate and then hers. She's totally spoiling breakfast, but whatever!! It's his birthday. "Enjoy! I am going to pour myself all the coffee." And you know find an excuse not to stare at him like a weirdo praying for validation. She really wants Frank to like the cake, okay??

"Top me up?" he requests, rubbing at an eye as he passes Kamala his cup. He's exhausted, it would seem, though usually he's (okay, yes, tired but) a lot more energetic. "How'd you know it was my birthday anyway? Did David tell you?"

Kamala fills in request with practiced ease. She notices the exhaustion. She means to ask about it before the question comes her way. As she fills his cup and hers, she's tempted to lie. It'd easy to say David mentioned it. She's never lied to Frank. Kamala doesn't want to start now. "Uh... I may have googled you when I got home." She passes back his cup with a sheepish look. "I know, I know! Not cool! Huge invasion of privacy!" She adds milk to her coffee and takes a seat. Time to come all the way clean. "I... just wanted a clue on how to find you. I didn't have any better ideas at the time."

He brings the cup back over once it's full, holding onto it with both hands and looking pretty content despite Kamala's admission.

"Is that stupid dash cam picture still the first thing that comes up?" What's a little Googling between horror besties?? Really. "Kinda weird that my birthday's on there." Like, who besides her would even want that info?

"Yep! You look totally ridiculous." Kamala comments brightly as she starts stuffing her face. She's happy he's not mad. She thinks most people would be. She takes a long sip of coffee to wash it down. "Oh so that actually is part of a profile some pop psychologist was doing on you. I stopped reading like two lines in. It got really dark. Like they thought you had like animal bones in your backyard as a kid kind of dark." She comments seriously.

Kamala begins laughing. "If only they could see you now! Seriously you're basically a Disney princess living with a magical girl. Animals are your best friends."

Frank wrinkles his nose, wanting to get offended, but maybe now isn't the time. He has to try this cake before Kamala jumps across the table, huh? He scoops some up on his fork and takes a bite, making sure to let out a little hum in appreciation though he usually doesn't go for sweet things. It's really hitting the spot right now, truth be told, especially when he washes it down with his coffee.

"I'm glad you didn't read that." Or like, half the other shit that probably came up about him. "Thanks, sweetheart." He raises his fork before taking another bite to indicate he means the cake.

Kamala claps her hands together with a goofy smile. She couldn't look more pleased with herself. "I'm so glad you like it! I worked really hard on it! Like so hard. I may have used some some magic seeds to get really fast to do it. Still not sure if that counts as drugs or not, but I'll throw in an extra prayer session to make sure I'm cool with God still." Just saying!!!! She settles down a little. Kamala didn't miss that nose wrinkle. She thinks she knows what it means. If nothing else, Kamala wants to make one thing clear to him on his special day.

"And... yeah. I really missed you, but I didn't want some weirdos who never even met you to taint my memories." Kamala shrugs helplessly. "I never imagined we'd end up living together or that we might be really expensive clones. Life is weird." She smiles sheepishly. "Happy birthday. Here's to another year of weirdness."

He snorts at that. It's so very her that he can't help but be amused by it.

"Life is totally weird," he commiserates, thinking about Thanksgiving and wishing that he weren't. That crazy dream with the paper turkeys streaming from the ceiling... His baby girl and David's, the best of friends. Frank has to breathe through his nose for a few beats before he can return to Earth, immediately downing a gulp of coffee to anchor himself before picking his fork back up and pushing cake around his plate. "It has been almost a year, hasn't it?" Since they met. Since that very first wave of New Arrivals. God, he hates his birthday. More now than perhaps ever before.

If she notices him leaving Earth for a bit, Kamala doesn't say anything. As much as she would like to baby him, tell him whatever is going on in his head is fine and totally valid, some things are better left alone when dealing with a grown man. She eats her food contently until the question comes her way. Her face softens as she thinks back to that time. The girl he met was so much younger than she is now. It's weird that she knows that. She can see how the death, suffering, and neglect shaped her into a much older person in four months time.

"Yeah, I guess it has been. I'm going to be seventeen soon." She notes as an afterthought. The way time works is so weird for them. Months were days to her parents. She has yet to find out if her healing will effectively keep her a teenager for life the way it seems to have kept Wolverine into a very hairy adult.

Kamala supposes technically speaking that is the truth since her powers aren't even active right now. She has been becoming an adult since they got here. It hurts a little. She doesn't want to be a year older away from her friends and family. "Isn't that weird? I guess a part of me thought in places like these I'd just stay sixteen forever. Only you'd get older because you know. You're already old." To her at least.

Seventeen... The thought hurts on multiple levels. She's had to grow up so much and while he's proud of her, she should never have had to. Not the way things went down. He laughs that familiar bark of dark laughter, turning his head away from her a moment. Yeah, he's old. Older than he'll ever be in years, too. Twenty years feels like a blink between them and slowly he manages to turn back and face her.

"When?" Is her birthday, he means. She'll remember how he went all out for Logan's, so she should probably watch it.

The second he asks the question she thinks back to Logan. She misses the tall, incredibly handsome version of him even if the tiny, hairy version will always have a special place in her heart. Kamala knows Frank must miss him too. "December 13th." She admits. Kamala already accepts her fate when it comes to this. Maybe it'll be nice to have Frank focus on something fun for a change even if she thinks he's gonna cry at some point.

She washes her food down with some coffee as something occurs to her. "Oh! Could you cut my hair that Monday? I want to look pretty for it." It's long overdue in all honesty. Her bangs have grown out to the point where Kamala is having to constantly brush them behind her ears to keep them from getting in her eyes. The longer length is tough to maintain too.

His is right before Thanksgiving and hers right before Christmas, he supposes there's a poetry to that.

"Of course I can, sweetheart. You sure you don't want one now, too?" He doesn't even pick up on the irony of calling anyone else shaggy, honestly. He's well committed to his hobo dad lifestyle by now.

She huffs in his direction. "It's your birthday! I can't accept favors on your birthday." Kamala shoves her hair back. She feels so called out. It's not fun when she's not the one doing it!!! "Besides, I'm not the only one who grew out their hair! It's a weirdly good look for you, but still!"

He didn't mean to ruin things!!! As usual. He just has a particular knack for it anyway. He laughs at her rejoinder, pushing his free hand through his hair with a touch of self-consciousness himself. "You think so? When I had it like this before, everyone kept calling me a hipster." Not that anyone here has. They don't say much of anything to him most days and that suits him fine. "Sorry, did you have something else planned?" He'll go along with whatever birthday festivities she wants as long as they don't include other people.

She nods eagerly. Kamala really is enamored with this hairstyle above the other. That's not surprise. She would prefer comfy hobo dad to scary murder man look any day. "I really do! I mean the beard is really Aamir-like, but I love the long hair on you! The way it curls at the end is super cute." Which is what's important to her obviously! She looks a bit sheepish as she pokes what little is left on her plate.

"Actually I never made it past the breakfast planning stages. I wasn't sure how well this would be received so we're totally open to whatever you want. I cleared my day." It helps she makes her own schedule, huh?

It curls? He goes a little cross-eyed trying to see the ends of his own hair, but whatever. That's so beyond the point. She doesn't have anything planned, but she cleared her whole day to spend with him. No pressure, umm.

"We could go hunting?" That's not really a fun birthday activity, maybe, or at least not for her. He can always go when she's not around too, but oh, this might interest Kamala actually. "I learned this new trick with Hawke where you dip the arrow in frog venom. It paralyzes them so they, uh, die quicker. And the meat tastes better that way."

That was way less morbid and way more cool in his head, sorry.

"Or, uh. Something else, if you want." He wouldn't mind feeding the squirrel dogs, she knows their big bushy tails make him happy.

That is definitely morbid. She can kind of see why people get the wrong impression of him during times like these. On the other hand, Kamala knows this interests him. She had to let go of all of her qualms ages ago when it came to hunting as he knows. "No, that works! That will be less for us to worry about later on." The people here need to eat the same way they did in Reims. "Besides, I need more archery practice." Never know when you might need to shoot a guy who looks like Mr. Clean.

He brightens a little when she agrees, knowing she sees the merit of the hunt and isn't just humoring him. She knows he won't kill anything cute and cuddly anyway, but certainly not with her riding shotgun.

Their elk is lasting well, he'd prepared it multiple ways and found a way to freeze the rest in the cellar until the temperature drops enough. It isn't them he's worried about, but everyone else. There aren't many people preparing when he walks through the villages, and it worries him. Actually, only one person in particular truly worries him and she probably can anticipate what he's about to say next.

"I went to see Jess a few weeks ago," he prefaces, scooping up another bite of cake and taking another swig of coffee, an edge of thoughtfulness to his tone. "She was in bad way, Kam." He really doesn't like her being all the way out there with no electricity this time of year, to say nothing of the dust moths that had stolen her memories with her none the wiser, zombifying her over long days or even weeks alone and Frank and Kamala were safe and warm close to the Inn with no idea. It terrifies him, if he's being truly honest.

Kamala can see it coming. The truth is she's been wondering about Jessica herself. The lady can handle herself obviously, but this is survival. One thing Kamala learned in Reims is that Jessica isn't always the best at self-care. She needs someone around to poke her into doing the work and who better than them? "Maybe she should stay with us until it gets warm again. I don't think Matt is coming back so we have the room." She suggests it as softly as possible. She knows it'll be a tough sell. She thinks they need to pull the trigger on it.

"I know she's got the whole Miss Independent thing going on, but she needs to be practical. Neither of us have the powers that let us take crazy risks and live to tell about them anymore. There's nothing wrong with sticking with us until it's nicer out." And it's not like her enemy is here anymore. That goes unsaid for obvious reasons.

Matt is right across the street, basically, and Elektra knows to come to him if they need anything. So all of his focus really is on Jess at this point. He chews his lip and hopes what he's about to ask won't sound... juvenile. He is 37 today, he should at least try to be the grown up in this relationship. But he has concerns about asking Jess to stay, too.

"I get it if you don't want to, but I dunno... I just think it might sound better coming from you." His eyes are bright and wide, clear in their vulnerability. Yes, it's hard for him to talk to Jessica about anything serious on a good day. But he also doesn't want to make it seem like he's - what? Still in love with her? Because he is, so. Frank looks out the window a moment then shakes his head, abruptly getting up to clear the table so they can start getting ready to go. "Nevermind. I'll stop over there tonight."

Kamala eats the rest of the food off her plate as she listens to Frank. She changes gears only when he gives her that vulnerable look. She takes a sip of coffee and tries not feel like the adult here. It doesn't quite work out for her. Something falls into place suddenly Kamala. It's like she knew it all along, but that look coupled with him changing his mind solidifies it. "Let me know if it doesn't work. I don't want her to think this is just because you..." She trails off. Kamala is positive she's right about this, but if she were wrong? It's an incredibly disrespectful thing to suggest. She'd never willfully do that in any significant way. She'll put off doing a chore knowing he'll do it for her. She's never been outright hurtful to Frank.

Kamala treads carefully as she continues. "You really like Jessica. You have for a while, right?" Just like that she's the kid again. The look she gives him is uncharacteristically meek. Don't get mad is on the tip of her tongue. She's pretty sure this is supposed to be an unspoken thing, but it's too late to walk it back.

Edited (my brain thinks we're using the phone's autocorrect) 2018-11-27 02:55 (UTC)

He's glad he has his back to her when she starts, taking in a sharp breath as he drops their plates into the sink. Kamala has his ticket, huh? After all this time. It's kind of funny that she hadn't caught on until now, in some ways. In others, it hurts. Just like everything always inevitably does.

"Since we met," he admits, only realizing once it's out that it's the truth. It had been the same with Maria. Sometimes, you just know. That's what he told David, right? Both hands reach for the edge of the sink, suddenly feeling weak himself, but he feels her eyes on the back of his head and cranes his neck to look back at her. "I'll never forgive myself if something happens to her out there, Kamala. It can't happen."

An invisible hand grabs her throat. It's Kamala's turn to stand now as a surge of panic washes over her. "It doesn't have to, Frank!" It comes out in a rush. As always Kamala is painfully sincere. Her eyes bright tellingly. She doesn't want that for him. This time she thinks she can stop some bad things from happening. She's grown up, hasn't she? She should be able to do this much!

The rest is more carefully spoken. She thinks every word through, weighing how much help or hurt they will do as she says them. "We may not know what's happening, we may not even be who we think we are, but this isn't Reims! We don't have to get hurt over and over again without having any real way to save each other. You can convince Jessica to let people help her for a change and if you can't, then I'll talk to her too. It doesn't always have to end badly." She stresses that part. Kamala doesn't blame him for feeling that way, but she can't accept it.

She's right, of course, and his gaze softens as he turns to lean against the counter so he can face her properly.

"I'm gonna try my best, okay? Promise." And he'll even do his best to go into it with an open mind even though he's convinced there's no way she'll say yes. He forces a tiny smile and shrugs a shoulder. "Wanna get ready to head out soon? We'll bring Aretha, I told Agent Carter we'd bring back some geese for soup." That can be his contribution to this humanitarian crisis, right?

She believes him enough to let it go. He'll call her in for backup if he needs it. Frank did provide her with a nice distraction from her heightened emotions over the whole affair. She smiles big and claps her hands together. "Oh I love missions! I'll be ready in fifteen!" Just like that's off to get into more appropriate clothing, brush her teeth and tie up her hair. More like twenty tbh. #teengirls

He nods at her retreating back, knowing how she do. And she knows how he do which is why he's ready to go within moments, loading them up each a light pack and a bow with arrows. Even Aretha has some saddlebags and she's looking very pleased with herself as they head out. Frank pulls out some dried peaches from his jacket pocket once they really hit the trail and offers the bag to her.

"I think I know where to find those frogs right after a rain, but we gotta be quiet." Frank winks at her, obviously they'll have trouble with that, right? He looks at Aretha and puts a finger to his lips, she's the loudest of their group, obviously, but she looks determined to do right by the crew.

They're like a team. The thought gives Kamala more cheer than usual. She keeps pace with Frank while accepting those pieces of dried fruit. She lets out a soft laugh at his joke, content to eat and do their thing after, until she realizes her mistake. Kamala holds up her hand to stop the group and turns to Frank. "Before we get any further, you need your birthday gift!" Her hand slips into her jacket pocket where she produces a very homemade gift. It's a very tiny piece of wood that has been carved carefully into a (slightly slanted) square with a lightning bolt etched in attached to a rope cord to be worn as a necklace presumably.

If there's ever a moment Kamala is desperate for approval, it's in this moment. She pretty much poured her soul into this little project. She wants him to love it. She wants Frank to see this and be happy. Anything less than total approval would probably crush her tiny spirit. "Do you like it? It's my symbol. That way we can always be together. And if anyone gives you any problems, you can always say you're with Ms. Marvel. There hasn't been an evil one ever so that should buy you some credit in the superhero community." Mostly it's about being horror bffs.

Frank had completely forgotten she made him something else. The cake and her company were more than enough to make this day perfect. But he reaches out to accept the tiny thing instantly, his hand so large it shutters the necklace and her entire hand from view before he can hold it up in his palm and really take a look. Confusion flits across his face, wondering if it's a joke from when he gave them lightning powers by accident. When she explains, it's the ultimate D'oh! moment. He knew that, and he brushes his thumb over the symbol reverently as she goes on. He's pulling the necklace on over his head before she's even done with her speech, tucking it under his clothes close to his heart where he can feel it with him always.

Instead of saying anything. he waves for her to come closer then wraps his arms around her shoulders. He's trying not to let his emotions get the best of him, but he knows he's squeezing her a little too tight anyway. "Thank you," he manages to croak hoarsely, one tear trailing down the side of his face no matter how he tries to hold it in.

She knows she did good when he waves her in. The crushing hug just confirms it. While it hurts, Kamala couldn't be happier as she hugs him back. He really is her best friend in so many ways and in others he really has become family to her. Frank is also someone she feels she owes a great deal. Anything she can do to make him feel special or appreciated doesn't seem like a big deal compared to all he's done for her.

"Only the best for my horror bff." She pledges sincerely. Maybe her best isn't great, but every bit of it is made with care and love. She thinks that comes through.

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closed | let's go on living

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